


Storytime

by ShadowoftheLamp



Series: Adventures in Parenthood [5]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Fluff, Kidfic, M/M, part of a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22364698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: Dib walks in on Zim settling Twix down for bed.
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: Adventures in Parenthood [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1532000
Comments: 3
Kudos: 89





	Storytime

**Author's Note:**

> I realized I could post this now because her name's been revealed in the main story! This was a contest prize for fanart anon. I may post the Xmas one later, buuuut the time has kinda already passed for that one. I just wanted to put this in with the series over here.

Dib sighed, pulling a stick out of his hair and chucking it to the front lawn before shutting the door with a snap. He had been _so close_ to the chupacabra, but it just _had_ to spit acid at his camera before running off. At least it hadn’t gotten at his clothes this time- those were just dirty with plain old dirt.

The base was too quiet. “Zim?” He cupped his hands around his mouth before calling out again. “Zim? Twix?” A pause. “Gir? Minimoose? …Computer? Oh, right, that was going to be offline for a while for repairs.” He tapped his chin. “Where… well, better start with the basics.” 

They weren’t in the upper bathroom, and the open floor plan ruled out anywhere else on the ground floor. Dib headed down to the lower level. “Ziiiiiiim?” Still nothing. 

All that was in the main lab was the humming of equipment, but as he neared Twix’s room, Zim’s voice carried through the crack under the door. “They ran like little weasels, all of them, ran fast enough that they might have made it if the canyon hadn’t been right in front of them and covered in so much fog they all started skidding off the edge!”

Dib carefully opened the door. Twix was settled in Zim’s lap, her back against his stomach. She was nearing a year old now, and growing fast- her head already had a messy cover of surprisingly thick black hair, and she had almost caught up to the size of (according to the internet, anyway) a normal human infant. Her antennae bobbed slightly as Zim spoke, and she yawned, exposing little pink-tinted teeth. “Uh-huh?”

“Yes, they toppled over one by one, while the Garslack managed to grab the slowest trainee and swallow him down like a piece of candy. Tre landed on the ledge, and I, of course, jumped out to slay the Garslack, because clearly, my team wasn’t going to do anything of the sort. As always, Zim was the hero that the squad needed, they shouldn’t have needed ‘lookout’ to stop them from going off that cliff edge.”

Twix hummed in affirmation. “Mhm! Yes!”

“There was plenty of mess to clean up, and two of my teammates even survived. I think. I was switched to another team after that, so it wasn’t my problem anymore.” He shrugged. “Anyways, you need to be resting your eyes. Humans need far too much sleep, and that means you.”

“More?” She laid a hand on his arm, looking up, and he thought for a moment, before beginning to sing. Dib took half a step back at that.

_“Go to sleep, my brave soldier, this whole world will be yours, your body needs its rest, to grow and learn and be strong…”_ He was clearly making the words up as he went, but the tune sounded familiar in a way Dib couldn’t place. It must have been something that had been on the radio that Zim had decided to borrow. Twix yawned again and turned over, settling on one of Zim’s thighs. 

Zim kept improvising words, and Twix’s eyes fluttered shut by the second ‘verse’. Zim carefully slid out from under her, folding the blanket over her. 

Dib smiled, taking another step back as Zim headed for the door. Zim jolted when he ran directly into Dib’s chest.

“Dib!” He cleared his throat. “You’re back.”

“No luck this time. I liked the song.” 

Zim lightly swatted at his arm. “Tell no one.”

“I think it’s sweet. I might lay off the war stories once she’s old enough to remember them, though. At least tell her about the fights you had once _we_ met.”

“Do you really want me to tell her how often I defeated you?”

“I remember things differently, spaceboy.” Dib brushed his knuckles over the top of Zim’s skull with a light laugh. “But really, you still surprise me sometimes.” Zim opened his mouth, and Dib cut him off. “In a good way. Maybe we’ll do okay, with this parenting thing.”

Zim grinned. “Of course we will, we can do anything.”

Dib grinned back. “Together.”


End file.
